r of the land must qualify himself to superintend his own
operations, (with the aid of a country surveyor, or a railroad engineer in
the necessary instrumental work.) As draining becomes more general, the
demand for professional assistance will, without doubt, cause local
engineers to turn their attention to the subject, and their services may
be more cheaply obtained. At present, it would probably not be prudent to
estimate the cost of engineering and superintendence, including the time
and skill of the proprietor, at less than $5 per acre, even where from 20
to 50 acres are to be drained at once.

2. _Digging the Ditches._--The labor required for the various operations
constitutes the principal item of cost in draining, and the price of labor
is now so different in different localities, and so unsettled in all, that
it is difficult to determine a rate which would be generally fair. It will
be assumed that the average wages of day laborers of the class employed in
digging ditches, is $1.50 per day, and the calculation will have to be
changed for different districts, in proportion to the deviation of the
actual rate of wages from this amount. There is a considerable advantage
in having the work done at some season, (as after the summer harvest, or
late in the fall,) when wages are comparatively low.

The cutting of the ditches should always be let by the rod. When working
at day's work, the men will invariably open them wider than is necessary,
for the sake of the greater convenience of working, and the extra width
causes a corresponding waste of labor.

A 4-foot ditch, in most soils, need be only 20 inches wide at the surface,
and 4 inches at the bottom. This gives a mean width of 12 inches, and
requires the removal of nearly 2-1/2 cubic yards of earth for each rod of
ditch; but an increase to a mean width of 16 inches, (which day workmen
will usually reach, while piece workmen almost never will,) requires the
removal of 3-1/4 cubic yards to the rod. As the increased width is usually
below the middle of the drain, the extra earth will all have to be raised
from 2 to 4 feet, and the extra 3/4 yards will cost as much as a full yard
taken evenly from the whole side, from top to bottom.

In clay soils, free from stones or "hard pan," but so stiff as to require
considerable picking, ordinary workmen, after a little practice, will be
able to dig 3-1/2 rods of ditch per day, to an average depth of
3.80,--leaving from 2 to 3